Bape fans are among the most loyal in fashion — and to mark the brand’s 30th anniversary, it made sure attendees of this year’s Bape Heads Show walked away with an experience they wouldn’t soon forget.
A Bathing Ape hosted Bape Heads Show 2023 last night at Terminal 5, the famed New York City music venue in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, and the event included live performances from today’s top rap talent and its fall-winter ‘23 runway show.
Dave East, Trinidad James and Stalley were some of the rap stars who took in the show, alongside social media personality Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo, Rich Kleiman, manager of Kevin Durant and co-founder of Thirty Five Ventures, and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown. (Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets also walked in the show.)
After the collection was revealed, Bape tapped a trio of rap megastars for performances, including Lola Brooke, Coi Leray and Lil Baby. (The Atlanta MC also walked in the show.)
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The runway show, which was curated by creative director Polina Zakharova and produced by Svetlana Yermolayeva, featured more than 100 looks from Bape and its four sub labels: AAPE, Bape Black, Bapy and APEE. Bape explained that the experience was designed to touch on elements “that are reflective of the brands’ foundations,” including dance, skate, music and sports, “while furthering Bape’s spirit of freedom and inclusivity with its sub-brands.”
The looks in the show put the brand’s foundations and fashion languages on display, which included American collegiate, vintage, outdoors, modern women and Y2K styles.
And, of course, there was plenty of eye-catching footwear.
Sneakers were dominant: The brand revealed several new iterations of its iconic Bape Sta and Sk8 Sta looks, which were delivered with different color palettes and material executions that included metallic hits and denim. In the more extreme instances, Bape opted to employ faux fur, bejeweled chain overlays and massive foam blocks that consumed the shoe’s soles.
Also, Bape revealed several new kicks during the show, including a low-top canvas silhouette in a number of colorways that were highlighted by an exaggerated rubber toe cap. And Bape revealed a new-look version of its Manhunt style, executed with faux fur detailing.
Perhaps the most interesting shoes were worn by the women walking the runway.
The brand revealed numerous eye-catching silhouettes for its female fans, including sleek black leather pointed-toe boots (including several paired with tiered faux fur), printed denim over-the-knee boots, round-toe brown leather boots, flared-heeled pumps and leather lug-sole loafers, among others.
